I recently purchased and started P90X and was curious if anyone who has been doing it has noticed any improvement in their swimming, or improvement they've seen generally.
I've read a p90x blog that suggested not following the 90 day program but rather do 3 p90x workouts a week in addition to swim training to prevent yourself from burning out. Any thoughts on this?
Right now, I'm just sore, everywhere.
I have not done the 90 day P90X program, but I have the DVDs and have done most of the workouts.
I can't really see how someone can do the 90 day P90X program and concurrently train at a high level for swim competitions. In my experience, you would just get too broken down. If your main goal is fitness and weight loss, by all means do the full program. If you want to swim fast, I think you need to modify it somewhat to prevent overtraining and burnout. Just my opinion, YMMV, especially if you're young and recover more quickly.
BTW, I like the plyometrics, Kenpo and yoga DVD best. I've incorporated some of the exercises into my regular dryland routine. I think plyos are fantastic for starts and walls.
I would LOVE to do the P90x program, but until they come out with a version for people with Rheumatoid Arthritis and completely fused joints, I am SOL. As someone stated before, there is so much high-impact activity going on in this program, that my joints can't take it. Geez, I suffered a fall in the front yard and am now looking at knee surgery, so P90x is so out of the equation.
As for the debate about losing weight and swimming, well, it hasn't worked for me. Since really getting serious about my swimming in January, utilizing a HRM, maintaining a reduced-calorie diet by tracking calories in vs. calories out, and still trying to keep my RA at bay, I have lost about 5 lbs this YEAR! I swim 2500-3000 meters with 25-30 minutes of ab/core work done in the pool 5 days a week. I also use the pool dumb bells for strength training. I'm an IM swimmer, so everyday I focus on different strokes. Plus, I suffer from pool ADD, so I HAVE to have variety in my workout. All in all, with all of that swimming, 5 lbs in one year is highly depressing. I have about 40lbs to lose. Yet, I hear DAILY from people that say "with all that swimming, you should be skinny". Not so.
I know I would probably lose more weight if I could incorporate other forms of cardio and/or weight lifting into my workout, but I have problems lifting pots and pans in the kitchen, much less lifting dumb bells in the gym! So, let the debate rage on as to how some people can shed pounds so quickly with swimming and others, i.e. ME, can still stay overweight.
I just got started with the DVDs this last weekend, and have been having fun so far. The P90X program is definitely a killer, and it all depends on how much you push yourself. I'm not going to do the actual 90 day program, but will space things out with 4-5 of the workouts a week in addition to my 5 morning swims a week. My wife has been enjoying them also, and we will do weekends together.
Just did the Chest and Back w/ Ab Ripper afterwards tonight, and I think I got more of a tricep workout, but can feel it in the chest too. I'll cut this off cold turkey as we get closer to Nationals, but for now...bring the pain!! :banana: :bliss: :banana:
